Working tourists and their attitudes to hosts

This paper examines the results of tourist-host contact in specific situations that combine work activities and the consumption of tourism. A Path-Analysis method was applied to a survey across three groups of working tourists in Israel. The findings revealed that those who perceive their work situation as a means to continue their travel are less likely to have positive attitudes about their hosts than others who grasp their work situation as part of their experience. It is suggested that while the touristic orientation of. the latter induced them to develop social exchange with their hosts, the mercenary approach of. the former limited their encounter.with hosts to economic exchange only. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.